A Texan conservative Anglican -- yes, a square peg -- ponders both churchly and worldly things and enjoys his new church.

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Thanks to the Patriots, the NFL is in a Dangerous Position UPDATED

After the infamous SuperBowl XL in 2006 in which the refs, particularly one from Pittsburgh, helped the
Steelers steal another Super Bowl, I was one year away from swearing off the
NFL.I decided that if there was
another Super Bowl presented to the Steelers on a silver platter by the league
in the near future, I would stop watching the NFL.

And that was something
coming from this lifelong NFL fan. Heck, I remember my Dallas mom being unhappy about the Ice Bowl.I’ve had NFL Sunday Ticket
for years.But my attitude has
long been that if I liked rigged sport, I would watch pro wrestling . . . and I
don’t.

The reason I bring up this
dark memory is I suspect millions of NFL fans are now at the same spot I was
back in 2006.2006 was the NFL’s
fault – a ref from Pittsburgh for that Super Bowl?Really?But
this time it is the Patriots’ fault for deflating footballs.The NFL has good reason to be upset,
and they are.

One source described the league as
"disappointed ... angry ... distraught," after spending considerable
time on the findings earlier Tuesday.

I expect they will crack
down hard on the Patriots. But
more than footballs are in danger. The NFL itself is.

For now if the NFL is to
avoid lasting damage and massive fan defections, there is one thing that must
not happen.If the Patriots win
the Super Bowl accompanied with a widespread perception that the refs helped
them so to do, that would tip this Patriots scandal over into an NFL disaster.I would not swear off the NFL, but I
bet millions would at least become much less enthusiastic about the NFL should
that happen.

And the refereeing would
not have to be as outrageous as that in 2006.There is already widespread hatred of the Patriots.There is the earned perception that
they cheat already with a current episode of such in the news.A Patriots win in the Super Bowl would
not be good for the NFL.If there
is the perception that the NFL helped it out with questionable calls, it could
be disastrous, destroying already damaged NFL credibility and alienating fans.

No I am not a
Patriots-hater.But it is hard to
miss that Patriots hate is that strong out there – and that the NFL has already
had a bad season with scandals, bad calls (especially the Dez Bryant catch
reversal), and more.More than
footballs are in danger of being deflated by the Patriots.Fan loyalty is as well.

All the more reason to root
for the Seahawks as I will.

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UPDATE:

Deflategate is getting worse.Now there are reports the Ravens believe
the Patriots used underinflated balls against them.Remember that playoff game was not a blow out; the Ravens were up 14, twice.

And how many other times
have the Patriots literally taken the air out of the ball?

Again, I am no Patriots
hater . . . but I may be becoming one.More importantly, the NFL must take strong steps to defend both the
reality and the perception of “the integrity of the game.”